- Lands of Sweden
The lands of Sweden are three unofficial parts, essentially three collectives of provinces, in Sweden. These "lands" have no administrative function. There is not even a designation, which is commonly agreed upon, for this subdivision level. Most commonly they are called "landsdelar", which just means "parts of the country".
* "
Götaland " is the southern, most densely populated part, consisting of ten provinces
* "Svealand " is the central part, named after the historicSweden proper , which is the smallest of the three parts with six provinces
* "Norrland " (literally "Northern lands") is the northern part, which is the largest of the three parts, covering 60 percent of the total Swedish territory with nine provinces.They are used in weather reports, and therefore their boundaries can be seen on television and on the weather maps in the press.
The "lands" and the provinces:
Historical lands
Sweden was historically divided into the four lands:Götaland ,Svealand ,Norrland andÖsterland .* Österland (literally "Eastern lands") is the old name for Swedish Finland. It represents the southern and middle parts of
Finland . It may in prehistoric times have been inhabited by various tribes with their own kings (such as the Kvens).
* Norrland (literally "Northern lands") is the name for annexed lands to the north on both sides of theGulf of Bothnia .
* In Sweden's prehistoric times Sweden was largely restricted toSvealand and southernNorrland , whileGötaland is mentioned in legends as a rival kingdom, and traditions ofSwedish-Geatish wars survive in the Anglo-Saxon epic "Beowulf ". Eventually the two countries were united under one crown by the Swedish kings somewhere between 550-1200 (the date is the matter of debate).By the time of the
Treaty of Stolbovo ,1617 , the significance of these particular lands of Sweden was historical and geographical diffuse.Fact|date=February 2007 Thus the concept of Norrland could easily cover also the new territories in the North, colored green on the map.During the imperial era, Courts of Appeal ("hovrätter" in Swedish) were introduced in the kingdom in order to relieve the original Svea Court of Appeal ("Svea Hovrätt") in Stockholm, established in 1614. Göta Court of Appeal was the second such court in
Sweden proper , established in Jönköping in 1634. It was proceeded byÅbo Court of Appeal (1623) inFinland andDorpat Court of Appeal (1630) inLivonia (in precent day Estonia), during this era part of thedominions of Sweden . Today, there are six court regions in Sweden: the Scania and Blekinge Court of Appeal,Malmö , the Court of Appeal for Western Sweden inGothenburg , the Göta Court of Appeal inJönköping , The Svea Court of Appeal inStockholm , the Court of Appeal for Southern Norrland inSundsvall , and the Court of Appeal for Northern Norrland inUmeå .After the
Finnish War (1808 -1809 ) the eastern half of Sweden was ceded toRussia , thus becoming theImperial Russia nGrand Duchy of Finland . "Norrland" was divided between these two states. The Swedish portion of Norrland still represents more than half of Sweden's territory; it remains, however, sparsely populated compared to the south and middle. The town ofStockholm , which became the Swedish capital mostly because it was centrally located in Sweden of its medieval boundaries (i.e. the brightest area on the map) now became situated at the eastern border.ee also
*
Lists of unofficial regions by country
*Subdivisions of "Norden"
*Old Finland
*Lands of Denmark
*Dominions of Sweden
*Provinces of Sweden
*Historical provinces of Finland External links
* [http://www.domstol.se/templates/DV_InfoPage____2319.aspx Courts of Appeal: The Court Districts of Sweden] - Official site of The National Courts Administration
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